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Any input from beginners who have dipped their toes into this? Is the content explained fairly intuitively or in a way that is simple to understand? I'm also c

Any input from beginners who have dipped their toes into this? Is the content explained fairly intuitively or in a way that is simple to understand? I'm also curious - for those in the know - is the pursuit of knowledge regarding reverse engineering something that has proven valuable in a job or is it primarily an academic pursuit? If it has proven valuable, how so?

ackbar03 7y ago
I've followed this book for a bit when learning. Most of it is just examples however. You basically write the program in c, compile and assemble it, disassemble it, and see what it looks like. It's a good exercise though and repeating the motions help. After following it a bit you can then pick ones which you find more interesting. Also I didn't follow it all the way through, the content later in might be a bit different
nekitamo 7y ago
The book is good and it explains stuff very well. It can be a bit dense in the beginning, if you're looking for a gentler introduction look at the Lena151 tutorials I linked to elsewhere in this thread. Ultimately reverse engineering is a hard and dry topic to learn. Different people learn in different ways. Try several different tutorials and learning resources before finding what works for you. Reverse engineering has been invaluable for my career. It helps you understand the intricacies of modern systems, and makes it so you're never afraid to dive under the hood of something. You approach all software with a can-do attitude, because you know that no matter what, with enough effort you will be able to understand it and make it do what you want. It has also opened up many interesting career paths for me in game anticheat, software exploitation, and tamper resistance. The jobs pay well and are very interesting :)
souprock 7y ago
I'm one "in the know", so I'll answer that part. Heck yeah it is valuable. My area has numerous employers that are eager to hire people with that skill set. It pays more than the typical software development jobs. Most of the jobs seem to be related to how things get hacked into. One can play defense or offense. I post about my employer in the "Who is hiring?" sometimes: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21422735 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21422735
- saagarjha 7y ago
  Cybersecurity defense contractor?
- bowmessage 7y ago
  how much is "more than typical"? Sounds interesting!
  - wingerlang 7y ago
    Informally I was told I could get a 40% instant raise by joining a company like this. I bet it can be more than that though. I haven’t pursued it yet because I don’t think my skill is enough.
    - 80486dx2 7y ago
      Defense contractors dont pay well. No stocks n peanuts bonus
      - burfog 7y ago
        All of that is false. I've seen people doing that stuff get yearly pay that is about the price of a house. That is good pay. I've seen stock given, and I've seen bonuses that seem nice, but it makes more sense to focus on pay. The pay is fine.
        jki275 7y ago
        I work in the field and maybe there are people out there getting paid like that, but that’s not the norm at all.
jnwatson 7y ago
A dedicated career in reverse engineering is quite lucrative. It is also quite helpful in the embedded space where sometimes your only tool is a hex dump of memory.
stevekemp 7y ago
The parts I read seemed well-written, but I'm not sure any beginners are going to dive into a big tome like this. I started reversing when I started coding, which was back in the 80s. Back then it was just trying to get extra lives on home computer-games. Later I wanted to install software, and that lead me to +fravia, and some of the associated challenges. It's almost too hard to step back and imagine whether a true beginner would follow along, but I think with the right motivation and a lot of baby-steps along the way it is a field that will always draw some people, and they'll get there in the end due to sheer tenacity, regardless of the quality of documentation they come across.

ackbar03 7y ago

I've followed this book for a bit when learning. Most of it is just examples however. You basically write the program in c, compile and assemble it, disassemble it, and see what it looks like. It's a good exercise though and repeating the motions help. After following it a bit you can then pick ones which you find more interesting. Also I didn't follow it all the way through, the content later in might be a bit different

nekitamo 7y ago

The book is good and it explains stuff very well. It can be a bit dense in the beginning, if you're looking for a gentler introduction look at the Lena151 tutorials I linked to elsewhere in this thread. Ultimately reverse engineering is a hard and dry topic to learn. Different people learn in different ways. Try several different tutorials and learning resources before finding what works for you. Reverse engineering has been invaluable for my career. It helps you understand the intricacies of modern systems, and makes it so you're never afraid to dive under the hood of something. You approach all software with a can-do attitude, because you know that no matter what, with enough effort you will be able to understand it and make it do what you want. It has also opened up many interesting career paths for me in game anticheat, software exploitation, and tamper resistance. The jobs pay well and are very interesting :)

souprock 7y ago

I'm one "in the know", so I'll answer that part. Heck yeah it is valuable. My area has numerous employers that are eager to hire people with that skill set. It pays more than the typical software development jobs. Most of the jobs seem to be related to how things get hacked into. One can play defense or offense. I post about my employer in the "Who is hiring?" sometimes: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21422735 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21422735

saagarjha 7y ago
Cybersecurity defense contractor?
bowmessage 7y ago
how much is "more than typical"? Sounds interesting!
- wingerlang 7y ago
  Informally I was told I could get a 40% instant raise by joining a company like this. I bet it can be more than that though. I haven’t pursued it yet because I don’t think my skill is enough.
  - 80486dx2 7y ago
    Defense contractors dont pay well. No stocks n peanuts bonus
    - burfog 7y ago
      All of that is false. I've seen people doing that stuff get yearly pay that is about the price of a house. That is good pay. I've seen stock given, and I've seen bonuses that seem nice, but it makes more sense to focus on pay. The pay is fine.
      - jki275 7y ago
        I work in the field and maybe there are people out there getting paid like that, but that’s not the norm at all.

jnwatson 7y ago

A dedicated career in reverse engineering is quite lucrative. It is also quite helpful in the embedded space where sometimes your only tool is a hex dump of memory.

stevekemp 7y ago

The parts I read seemed well-written, but I'm not sure any beginners are going to dive into a big tome like this. I started reversing when I started coding, which was back in the 80s. Back then it was just trying to get extra lives on home computer-games. Later I wanted to install software, and that lead me to +fravia, and some of the associated challenges. It's almost too hard to step back and imagine whether a true beginner would follow along, but I think with the right motivation and a lot of baby-steps along the way it is a field that will always draw some people, and they'll get there in the end due to sheer tenacity, regardless of the quality of documentation they come across.